She Found Herself: The Astonishing True Story of Carlina White’s Kidnapping.
One moment, 19-day-old Carlina White was resting in her Harlem Hospital crib. The next – gone. No sound. No alert. No witness. Just an empty bassinet and 23 years of agonizing questions for her mother, Joy White. This wasn’t just a kidnapping; it became one of the most quietly devastating child abduction cases in modern American history.
And in a twist no one expected, Carlina White solved it herself.
A Fever, A Crib, and a Disappearance
It was August 1987. Joy White, just 16 years old at the time, rushed her newborn daughter, Carlina, to Harlem Hospital. The baby had a high fever, and doctors decided to keep her overnight. A sympathetic woman in a crisp nurse’s uniform comforted Joy, saying she could go home and rest — that her baby would be safe.
But the woman wasn’t a nurse. She wasn’t staff at all.
Sometime in the early hours of the morning, while security cameras were reportedly offline, the woman removed Carlina from her IV, wrapped her in a blanket, and walked out of the building. Just like that.
Joy White stands next to the empty crib meant for her newborn daughter.
Who Was the Woman?
Her name was Ann Pettway, and she was going through a storm of her own. Multiple miscarriages, pressure from her partner, and a desperate need to prove something — all of it had apparently built up to that moment. Her decision wasn’t rational, but it was chillingly calculated.
Pettway took the baby home to Bridgeport, Connecticut, renamed her Nejdra Nance, and raised her as her own.
To Carlina, Ann was “Mom.” For a while, that was enough.
Ann Pettway
Childhood with a Secret
Carlina grew up surrounded by quiet questions. She didn’t look like her siblings. Her paperwork was missing — no birth certificate, no Social Security number. Whenever she asked, she got vague answers. And those answers never really satisfied her.
Still, she had a life. She went to school. She smiled in pictures. She laughed with friends. But deep inside, a persistent, quiet unease never really receded.
The Moment It All Unraveled
It wasn’t until Carlina got pregnant herself, in her late teens, that the truth began to emerge. She needed health insurance. She needed documentation. And Ann Pettway couldn’t provide any.
Finally, Carlina confronted her. The truth came out. She had been stolen from a hospital crib when she was just 19 days old.
Carlina didn’t panic — she investigated. She searched missing child listings online and came across a digitally aged photo on the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children website. The resemblance? Chilling. Even the birthmark on the image matched her own.
“I just felt different my whole life. Something didn’t feel right — and then everything made sense.”
— Carlina White, NBC News, 2011
A Test That Changed Everything
DNA confirmed it. She was Carlina White — the infant who had vanished in 1987 without a trace. The daughter Joy White and Carl Tyson had mourned for decades. Her biological father, Carl Tyson, spoke of finally having his “whole puzzle” complete after years of anguish.
The reunion was instant, but not simple. While her birth parents were overwhelmed with relief, Carlina remained cautious. “They wanted their baby back,” she later reflected, “but I wasn’t a baby anymore.” She had grown up believing one version of the world; now, she was being asked to live in another.
The Legal Reckoning
Ann Pettway turned herself in in 2011. Though New York’s statute of limitations had expired, federal charges were still on the table. She pleaded guilty to kidnapping and was sentenced to 12 years in prison. Carl Tyson believed the sentence was too lenient, wishing Pettway had received the same number of years she had stolen from his family: 23. She served roughly 10 before her release.
“She wasn’t abusive. But she wasn’t soft either. I felt like I didn’t fully belong, but I loved her anyway.”
— Carlina White, Today Show, 2012
Carlina didn’t call for vengeance. But she didn’t call it love, either.
Strange But True: The “Nurse” Never Existed
Here’s something that still haunts the case: The woman who posed as a nurse — who comforted Joy White and walked out with Carlina — was never identified by hospital staff. She wasn’t on any shift list. She wore no name tag. She wasn’t even questioned at the time.
And that night? The security cameras weren’t working.
Whether coincidence or institutional failure, no footage ever surfaced. No paper trail. Nothing but an empty crib. The unresolved questions surrounding the hospital’s security have continued to fuel public discussion and scrutiny online, with many questioning the lack of accountability.
Reddit Reacts
The story has resurfaced again on Reddit this year, drawing huge attention on r/TrueCrimeDiscussion.
“She solved her own case. That’s what gets me every time,” wrote one commenter.
“She lived a life she didn’t choose and still came out with grace,” said another.
Carlina’s story isn’t just a crime tale. It’s about love, confusion, truth, and the painful process of becoming.
Carlina Today
These days, Carlina — or “Netty,” as she still sometimes goes by — lives more privately. She’s given interviews, appeared in a Lifetime film about her life, and spoken about healing. She’s not a public figure. But she’s a survivor.
Her story asks big questions about identity, love, and how we define family. And it answers them… just barely.
What the Case Left Behind
After Carlina’s case went public, hospitals across the U.S. updated their security protocols: ID bands, ankle monitors, improved visitor policies. A life stolen in 1987 quietly changed how the system protects babies in 2025.
But the emotional legacy may run deeper than the policy one.
Final Thoughts
Most missing person stories either end in heartbreak or mystery. Carlina White’s ended in both — and something else. Rebirth.
She didn’t just discover who her parents were. She uncovered herself — not just in a DNA result, but in the long, lonely process of confronting a life built on a lie.
She found herself. And in a story that began with such profound loss, that act of self-discovery may be the most remarkable part of Carlina White’s astonishing journey.
People Also Ask
What happened to Carlina White? Carlina White was abducted from Harlem Hospital in 1987 by a woman impersonating a nurse. She later discovered her true identity in 2011 through online research and a DNA test.
Who kidnapped Carlina White? Ann Pettway took Carlina at 19 days old and raised her under a false name. Pettway was later sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for kidnapping.
How did Carlina White solve her own case? Carlina discovered she had no birth certificate while applying for health coverage. Suspicious, she searched online, found her own missing child poster, and took a DNA test to confirm her identity.
Where is Carlina White now? Carlina lives privately and has spoken occasionally about her story. She sometimes goes by her childhood name, Netty, and continues to process her dual life.
Was Harlem Hospital held responsible? No. Though heavily criticized for lax security and failed cameras, no formal charges were brought against the hospital. The incident led to industry-wide security reforms.
